


don't let me keep you (but please don't leave)

by Verdantsolstice



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A little angst, Death of a Parent, F/M, Feelings of guilt, Ghost Ben, HEA Guaranteed, Haunted House, No Pregnancy, Okay Maybe more than a little angst, but also soft, carpenter rey, ghost au, minor discussion of rey's childhood in the foster system, that pnw aesthetic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verdantsolstice/pseuds/Verdantsolstice
Summary: It's everything Rey hoped it would be, her little house on Puget Sound. Huge windows but cozy, small but big enough for her and hopefully one day, her friends to visit. After sitting empty for over 20 years, it needed some work, but Rey was good at that, she could build anything. Rey had worked so hard for so long and now everything was finally going her way, except for the presence of a late night visitor.______Kylo woke to the sound of banging, really loud banging.Oh great, someone has bought the house.He knew it would happen one day, but really wasn't looking forward to sharing the space. He didn't take up much room of course, ghosts were like that - but what if the new people were annoying? What if they listed to Nickleback? Kylo shuddered.If I'm stuck in this limbo forever, at least let them be unobtrusive______Or: Rey buys a house - it has a ghost.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 13
Kudos: 74





	1. Welcome to Washington

With a shove and a grunt, Rey finally got the front door open. She dropped her bag at her feet and promptly sneezed. The place was absolutely _covered_ in dust, the motes danced around her, lit by the sun coming in through the now open door. It was slightly musty from being sealed for so long, it was in desperate need of updating, and the garden outside was in shambles, but it was _hers_. At 26 years old, Rey was the proud owner of her very own house on Puget Sound. An impossible dream come true. 

Rey wandered to the back of the house, knowing the view that was waiting for her, but only from photos. Finn thought she was crazy for buying a house without going there in person, hell, Rey herself thought she was crazy for only seeing photos and a few Facetime calls with the realtor, but it felt right. And now that she was standing inside, it was home, she knew it in her bones. The back door also needed some encouragement before swinging open and revealing a view that Rey had only dreamed of. It was green, _verdant_ –rich with life in a way she’d never seen before. The greens were only emphasized by the occasional pop of red and yellow leaves. Autumn certainly didn’t look like this in the desert town of Barstow where she had spent the last ten years. Or any of the other places she’d been shipped as a child. With a sigh, Rey leaned her arms against the deck railing, which promptly gave way and sent her tumbling into the bed of ferns below. 

Rey landed with a thud and a less than lady-like curse. “Well, you knew it was a fixer-upper.” She laughed to herself lying there on the damp ground, then dissolved into a fit of giggles. She was here, on a lake surrounded by more green than she knew existed in the whole universe. And it was _hers_. Still smiling, Rey dusted herself off and started putting together a mental list of things that needed fixing.

When the list started to get overwhelmingly long, Rey decided to unpack her trailer first. She stepped around the duffel back she’d dropped by the door and went back to the driveway. The sand colored 2015 Toyota Tacoma was the first big purchase she’d ever made–used of course, but still. In the last few years, Rey’s life had changed dramatically. Her interest in woodworking and carpentry had started during shop class in high school, but she had managed to keep at it after graduation despite her very limited free time between shifts at the junkyard. She enjoyed building things, creating useful things out of almost nothing, just a lump of wood and her own imagination. After encouragement from Finn, Rey opened an Etsy shop, but it never gained much traction. Until one day some travel influencer bought a canoe paddle from her and showcased it on Instagram – Rey went viral. 

The attention and new business allowed Rey to buy herself a car, then a year and a half ago she was able to devote all her time to her craft, and left the junkyard behind for good. She and Finn celebrated so hard that night in their tiny apartment. Which was _nothing_ compared to their celebration when Rey signed the final papers for her house. Granted, there was cause for the increase in revelry, but as had become the norm, the presence of Finn’s boyfriend Poe usually kicked any situation up a couple of notches. Rey was hungover for two days. 

Rey smiled at the memory of her boys as she left the apartment for the final time. They left the day after her, Poe was transferred up to Travis Air Force base and Finn was going with him. 

________________

“Hey Finn!” Rey plugged her phone into her truck and set the directions back to her house.

“Hey Peanut! So does the house really exist or are you calling me to say I was right and the whole thing was a mistake?”

“Ha ha you’re hilarious. The house is very real–my key worked and everything.” Rey looked around then pulled out of the parking spot and made her way back to the main road. 

“But…?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rey slowed to a stop at the only stoplight in town. 

“Come on Peanut, you bought a house on the internet, there has to be a ‘but’.”

Rey sighed as the light turned green and she continued down the two lane highway that was rapidly becoming familiar to her. “The deck railing may have broken when I leaned on it this morning.”

Muffled laughter came through the truck’s sound system. “I’m sorry, that’s not funny. But let me guess, you’re on the way to the hardware store right now.”

“On my way back home actually. I might as well get to know the people there now, I’m going to be spending a lot of time and money at their store.”

“Rey…”

“I know what I’m doing Finn. I knew that the house needed work when I bought it. The inspectors said the structure was fine, its mostly cosmetic stuff. Nothing I don’t already know how to fix, or at least have the basic skills to learn.”

“An unstable deck doesn’t sound cosmetic, it sounds unsafe.”

Finn had a point about that, but Rey wasn’t about to let anyone rain on her parade today. She was a homeowner now. She had her own piece of land, a home, something that _belonged_ to her and only her. “Don’t worry about it, please Finn. I can handle myself.” 

“I know you can, but I’m going to worry about you anyway.”

Rey smiled, picturing the concerned look on her friend’s face. “You have enough to worry about. You and Poe have your own house to set up.”

A long sigh came from the other end of the line, “I swear, trying to get him to focus on furniture shopping is like pulling teeth. He says he doesn’t care, but of course he’s going to complain as soon as we buy one and put it in the house. He’s all concerned that Bebe won’t like the new house, as if that little corgi is anything but agreeable.” A muffled shout came through the speakers. “Poe says ‘hi’ and hopes your abandoned house isn’t haunted or anything.”

Rey laughed, trying to ignore the tiny niggling homesickness at having her only friends so far away. “I don’t believe in ghosts, you know that.”

“Yeah well, that doesn’t mean ghosts don’t believe in you. I’ve got to go, Peanut. We’re having lunch with Poe’s old C.O.”

“I’m almost home anyway and I better unload this lumber before it rains tonight. Talk to you later.”

Finn said goodbye and Rey pushed a button ending the call and the truck filled with the sounds of her roadtrip playlist. Rey turned left at the Christmas tree farm that signaled she was almost home. Just a quick hop over the bridge and she was on the island that she shared with seven other houses. The island was big enough that she couldn’t see her neighbors from anywhere on her land unless she stood at the very edge of the rocky beach. Rey pulled her truck up to the outbuilding she was going to use as her workshop and started to put the lumber inside when she heard footsteps crunching down her gravel driveway. 

“Hey, neighbor!”

Rey turned to find a small woman waving at her with a wicker basket hanging on her crooked arm. 

“Um, hi,” Rey wiped her hands on her pants and went to meet this new person. 

“I’m Rose, Rose Tico. I live next door with my fiance, Kaydel Connix and our cat Francis. Welcome to the neighborhood, I hope you like apple turnovers–the apples are from our tiny little orchard.”

Rose held out the basket for Rey to take. Rey didn’t know what to say, she’d never lived anywhere where neighbors were anything but politely distant to each other. A nod in the hallway or at the mailboxes. Rose had a warm smile on her face and an easy friendliness about her that sort of reminded Rey of Finn.

“Wow thanks, that's so nice of you, they look delicious. I’m Rey Johnson. Um do you want to come inside, I can transfer these to a plate and give you your basket back. Although it might take me a minute to find my plates again,” Rey laughed. 

“Oh no, don’t worry about it. I’ve got to get back, I’ve got more stuff in the oven. Kaydel teaches 3rd grade at the elementary school and I’m providing the good stuff for tomorrow’s bake sale. I work from home, we should have lunch one day when you’re settled though!”

“Yeah, that would be really nice, thanks.” Other than Finn, and now Poe, Rey hadn’t had many friends going up. And Rose seemed like she would be a good friend–baked goods notwithstanding. 

Rose checked her watch, “The cookies will be ready in a minute, I better go. Welcome to the neighborhood, Rey, it was really nice to meet you. I’ll see you around?”

“Yes, thanks again for these,” Rey held up the basket, “and for stopping by.” 

Rose waved and made her way back down the driveway. Rey watched as she turned right and headed down the road. Rey smiled, she had her own little house on Puget Sound and now possibly a new friend. 

________________

The autumn light was waning fast by the time Rey realized she hadn’t eaten since her very early camp breakfast in Oregon. Her stomach seems to also realize this fact and took the opportunity to grumble loudly. She hadn’t stopped at a grocery store on her way to the house, too excited about finally seeing it in person. So Rey resigned herself to another backpacking meal out of a packet and whatever roadtrip snacks she had left. Grateful she had the foresight to call ahead and make sure the gas, water, and electricity were turned on before her arrival, Rey made her way into the kitchen to heat up some water and then dug through her camping bin for a bowl and spoon, no point in unpacking the kitchen just yet. Once the water was boiled, Rey dumped in the dry packet and stirred until the powder transformed itself into black bean soup. She let the concoction simmer for a minute to go get her laptop from the truck. Since it was October, Rey pulled up the first season of _Sleepy Hollow_ and watched most of the first episode as she scarfed her meal. There was only maybe another hour of daylight and she wanted to make the most of it. She had managed to organize all of her tools in the garage shortly after Rose had left, and separated out the ones she’d likely need first, but there was still work she wanted to get done before the day was over. Rey was about to start in on her plans for the kitchen when her phone rang. _Finally_ , _this better be the rental company_.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hi, is this Rey Johnson?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Hi Ms. Johnson. I’m Mitaka from National Rental, I’m calling about the dumpster you ordered. The driver is en route to the address you provided, they should be arriving within the hour.”

“Great, thanks.”

“Thank you for your business, is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, thank you Mitaka.”

“Wonderful, have a good evening Ms. Johnson.”

“You too,” Rey hung up and went to make sure there was a clear spot for the dumpster to be dropped. With the amount of work she had planned for her house, she had figured it was better just to rent a little debris box instead of making multiple trips to the nearest landfill with her truck. Although renting a debris box wasn’t exactly expensive, her budget wasn’t large either, so her plan was to have the box for a day and demo as much as she could before it had to be collected. Once she was satisfied with an appropriate spot on the drive way– close enough to the house to be convenient, but an easy spot for the truck driver to navigate the drop-off and pickup– Rey went to grab her sledgehammer from the garage. She might as well get started while she waited for the delivery. 

When negotiating with the real estate agent, Rey had asked for both the original plans to the house as well as the most recent ones. After a fire about twenty years ago, much of the house had to be rebuilt. Even though, from what Rey could see, the reconstruction was fine, but still the house had lain empty ever since. The real estate agent said that not a lot of people were too keen on buying a house where a person had died in a fire. Rey wasn’t bogged down by superstition, and a morbid curiosity had sent her searching for information about her soon to be home. 

Finding news articles hadn’t been that difficult. Her new home was a relatively small town, and of course a house fire with a fatality had been a lingering story, not least because it was the vacation home of a senator. And, according to some rumors she’d been able to find in her search, there were some that thought it wasn’t a simple, tragic accident. Apparently, the man’s son had also been in the house that night, but his body was never found, nor could anyone account for his whereabouts that night or anytime after the fire. The official report (a legal disclosure when Rey bought the house) said the fire had been an accident, a spark from the fireplace caught the rug, then the curtains, and spread from there while the homeowner was asleep upstairs. Apparently he had been fast asleep due to some strong cold medication and didn’t wake as his home burned around him. One of the news articles had a photo of the family at what looked like an official event. The caption named them as Senator Leia Organa, her husband Han Solo, and their 12 year old son, Ben. Rey felt a sad smile growing on her face as she looked at this young boy who obviously hated the fact that his photo was being taken. He looked too tall for his suit and hadn’t quite grown into his ears yet. It was obviously an old photo because a different article had their son listed as age 29, but she couldn’t find a more recent photo of them. Rey remembered thinking what a nice family the three of them made and how awful the ordeal must have been for the senator, to be left alone like that. Rey knew about being alone, and she wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But the senator seemed to be made of strong stuff. Rey had looked her up as she fell deeper into the rabbit hole of curiosity. A long time senator for Washington, Leia had made a name for herself as progressive and unwavering despite facing unmitigated abuse from conservatives. Rey fell further down the rabbit hole watching her speeches on Youtube before following her official twitter and re-registering to vote with her new Washington address. 

And while her curiosity about the family who lived in her house 22 years ago lingered, the original and updated plans for the house were more pressing. They would guide her own renovation plans. For some reason, the post-fire repairs included a new wall separating the kitchen from the living area. Which meant the kitchen was now unnecessarily dark and cramped, which was a travesty considering the absolutely massive window that looked out over the water. First on Rey’s to do list was knocking out that wall and re-opening the space for better light and airflow. Rey checked the time, it was barely five, she had a couple hours of hammering before she violated the local noise ordinance. 

––––––––––––

The sun was long gone by the time Rey surveyed her days work. The debris bin was no longer echoing with each addition of broken wood and drywall pieces. Her body was sore after tearing down a wall with nothing more than her trusty sledgehammer after a very long drive. But she was happy. Already the room looked better, she could imagine the light coming through the space while she made a late weekend breakfast. Next she’d tear out the dated cabinets and countertops, but that was tomorrow’s problem. Now Rey wanted nothing more than to collapse into her brand new mattress. Except that wasn’t going to happen.

A shipping delay meant her new mattress and bedframe wasn’t going to arrive until tomorrow. Which meant she was either going to sleep on the dusty floor of her new bedroom or pop the tent that was suspended over the bed of her truck. Rey stretched her arms over her head and turned until her back gave a satisfying crack. 

“Oh good you tore that ridiculous wall down, I don’t know why they thought it was a good idea.”

Rey jumped out of her skin and spun to find a man standing in her house. “What the fuck?” 

The absolute mammoth of a man had the gall to look over his shoulder, as if he was wondering what Rey was talking about. 

“Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?” Rey’s heart was thumping loudly in her chest and she stepped closer to where her sledgehammer was leaning against what was left of the counter. 

The man looked her up and down then pointed both hands at his own chest with a confused look on his face. His eyebrows pulled in over brown eyes and his mouth moved as if to ask “me?”

“Yeah, you – who the hell else would I be talking about? Now who are you and what are you doing here?” fear was settling in Rey’s stomach. There was a strange man in her house, a man quite a bit larger than she was and she didn’t even have a phone number for her neighbors. No one would be checking on her tonight. Even so, she was hesitant to call the police just yet, adding that specific kind of fuel was not a road Rey was ready to go down just yet. 

“You...you can see me?” 

“What? Yes of c–” Rey noticed that the edges of the man were slightly blurred and that she could sort of _see through_ him. She looked up to his eyes and imagined the shock she saw there was mirrored in her own. “Am I hallucinating?” 

They stared for a moment, Rey wasn’t even sure she was breathing anymore. The only sound was the quiet beginnings of a rain shower. “What is this?” she eventually whispered.

“I um...I sort of live here–well _live_ probably isn’t the right word. I mean I _did_ live here, for a while at least, before–”

“Just–”

“I’m a ghost.”

Rey took a step back. “What the fuck.” The man looked almost apologetic but _what the absolute fuck_. Rey didn’t even believe in ghosts and now she was being like, haunted? No. “I haven’t even been in this house for 24 hours and I’m not having this. No no way, I don’t know what the hell is going on, but you have to leave.”

“I can’t.” 

Rey rubbed a hand over one eye, “why not?” she bit out. After a 17hr drive from Barstow, an uncomfortable night at a shitty campsite and several hours of swinging a heavy sledgehammer, Rey really wasn’t in the mood for this. 

“I’m stuck here, I’ve _been_ stuck here since–” he let out an exasperated sigh and put his hands on his hips. “You didn’t sign up for this, but neither did I. No one else has been able to see me, not the firefighters, not the construction guys, not even my m–” he cut himself off. “I don’t want to be here, I’m not going to ‘haunt’ you or whatever, I’ll stay out of your way.” He turned towards the staircase. 

“Wait!”

The man stopped with one foot above the bottom stair, for a moment Rey was curious as to why he didn’t just vanish or float up through the ceiling or something, but she shook that question away for the time being. “What’s your name?”

He seemed to hesitate before answering, “Kylo, Kylo Ren.”

“I’m Rey.”

He looked over his shoulder, there was something in his eyes that Rey couldn’t identify, it was like sadness, but different. “Goodnight, Rey.”

Rey didn’t answer as she watched him disappear up the stairs, it was only after he was out of sight that she realized she didn’t know what bedroom was his and she certainly wasn’t about to follow him up there. _Looks like its back to the tent tonight. Not because I’m scared, I’m just too tired to deal with this right now_ . A weak excuse, even to her own ears. Rey grabbed her phone and her bag then went out to her truck. It was raining steadily now, but it only took a few minutes to pop the tent and clamber inside. The little mesh window faced the house, she couldn’t see any lights on upstairs. _Could he even flip a lightswitch? Was he just sitting on the floor up there?_ Rey flopped onto her back and groaned. “How is this happening to me?”

This morning she was stoked for this new chapter of her life. Her business was doing well, she was a homeowner with a plan to make this house her own and was even possibly had a new friend in Rose. And now she had a ghost for a roommate. _An incredibly attractive ghost roommate_ , the thought flashed across her mind. At first the only thing she had noticed about him was his size, he was built like a damn refrigerator. But now that she had started to calm down, she thought about the honey color of his eyes and the fullness of lips– “No,” she cut herself off, “you are not about to start romanticizing the guy who is haunting your house.”

It was a while before Rey fell asleep, but eventually the rhythmic patter of the rain on her tent and the sheer exhaustion of the past 48 hours lulled her to sleep.


	2. We're Going to be Fine

If anyone asked, Rey definitely did not linger in the tent long past waking up, nor did she spend an unnecessary amount of time out on the deck pulling out the rotten planks and railings. The early morning mist was burning off by the time Rey was cleaning up the last of the mess she’d left in the kitchen the night before. 

“Why did you sleep outside?”

Rey nearly dropped the bundle of broken wood she was bringing out to the dumpster. “ _ Jesus! _ Look I get that you’re a ghost, but can you not sneak up on me like that?”

“It’s not like I can announce myself by stepping loudly,” Kylo rolled his eyes at her. 

Rey shot him a glare before answering, “My mattress isn’t arriving until this afternoon, I didn’t want to sleep on the floor.” When she came back from the debris box he was gone.  _ Is he gone? Or just invisible? This is so weird. _

There were a couple hours left before the debris box would be picked up, so Rey finished destroying what she didn’t want in the kitchen then moved through the rest of the house, ripping out the dated hardware, light fixtures, and anything else that couldn’t be recycled or improved. Finally she ran out of avoidance tactics and had to go through the two bedrooms to see if anything in there needed to be thrown away. Rey stood in the middle of the hallway, weighing her options before she scolded herself,  _ stop being a baby–this is your house for goodness sake.  _

“Kylo?” she called.

His head popped out from the bedroom at the front of the house. “What?”

“Is that wh–I mean...do you have–” Rey sighed at the amused look that was spreading over Kylo’s face. He was leaning against the doorway now, clearly far too amused at her fumbling. “Is that like, your bedroom?”

“Why, did you want this one?”

“No, I like the view of the water from the other one. But I–look I was planning on getting rid of the fixtures because I don’t like them, but I figured it would be rude to just destroy your bedroom if it was something you were attached to.” A smirk formed at his lips and Rey felt her face warm, “Don’t laugh at me! I’ve never met a ghost before I don’t know how this is supposed to work.” She crossed her arms with a huff. 

“No, its cute,” he straightened and held an arm out, inviting her into the room. “By all means, get rid of whatever you want, I’m not attached to anything in this house.”

For a moment Rey thought to challenge that question, surely he was attached to  _ something _ here, otherwise he would have moved on right? But the debris box was being picked up in an hour and she didn’t have time to wade into that potential quagmire. 

The room was empty, somehow that surprised Rey. The rest of the house was unfurnished of course, but it felt odd for an  _ occupied _ room to be bare. “Sorry if this is rude, but do you just lie on the floor or something? What do you do all day?”

Kylo looked down at her for a moment, “What do you see?”

“An empty room? What am I supposed to see?”

He held a hand out to her. Rey hesitated for a moment before placing her much smaller hand in his. She gasped softly at the cold, she could almost feel his hand but it was more like being caught against a soft invisible barrier. When she looked up the room was no longer empty. It was pretty dated, like something she’d seen on an old sitcom. One of the walls was completely covered in band posters, mostly groups that Rey had never heard of. A small TV was perched on a table at the end of the bed. The desk was covered in sketchbooks, pencils, and little pots of ink. 

Rey could feel Kylo’s eyes on her, waiting expectedly. “Am I getting an insight into teenage Kylo?” Rey let out a laugh when she noticed the amount of leather, denim, and flannel peaking out of the closet. His face was blank when she looked up at him and she instantly regretted her joke, “Sorry, I didn’t mean–it just...you don’t  _ look _ like a teenager but this room is...”

“No its fine, this is what my room looked like when I moved out. They didn’t change it, so it was the same the night I came back, the night I…” he cleared his throat, “Throw away whatever you want. Let the past go.”

Unsure of what else to do Rey was about to squeeze his hand when he let their connection break. The room faded back to empty and she was left standing alone. 

________________

An hour later the debris box was full and being lifted back onto the truck. Phase one of Rey’s plan was complete. She should be happier about this, but all morning Rey was nagged by the feeling that she had forgotten something – something important. A distant echo of thunder rumbled over the water, as if warning the afternoon was going to be miserable, "Yeah, me too,” Rey muttered as she turned back into the house. 

She was sat on the floor absentmindedly sanding down the old cabinet doors when Rose appeared at the open front door. 

“Hey neighbor!” Rose gave her a cheery wave.

“Hey! Come in!” Rey stood and wiped her hands on her pants. “How was the bake sale?” 

“Not to brag or anything, but my table sold out first,” a big smile broke out over Rose’s face as she crossed over to what was left of the kitchen. 

“Nice! I had  _ several _ turnovers for breakfast this morning, they were amazing, thanks again.”

“I’m so glad you liked them!”

“I hope I haven’t been too noisy for you. I’m mostly done destroying things, but there’’ll be a bit more noise when I start building things. Sometimes the noise from the power tools is worse than the banging. I should’ve done this yesterday, but I can give you my phone number, just text me if there’s a problem,” Rey reached into her back pocket to pull out her phone. The screen was cracked and it was several generations behind, but as long as it still mostly worked she was keeping it.

“We heard a little, not much else out here to absorb the noise,” Rose gave a vague gesture to the woods that separated their houses, “but as long as you’re not a midnight worker I think we’ll be okay. We should exchange numbers though!” She rattled off her number which Rey promptly texted.

They continued to chat for a few minutes – about Rey’s plans for the house and Rose’s recommendations for local shops and restaurants. Again she was reminded of Finn, like him, Rose was easy to talk to, they probably made friends with nearly everyone they met. Which bode well for Rey who was far more guarded in her interactions. Even so, she hoped this friendship would develop and maybe with Rose’s partner Kaydel, too. Rey was in the middle of explaining her plans for the deck (once the rotten boards were replaced) when Kylo appeared, sitting in the middle of the stairs. She stopped short, forgetting entirely about the deck but realizing the question that had nagged at her since Kylo vanished earlier.

“Uh, Rey, hello?” Rose moved into Rey’s eyeline then looked over her shoulder, right at Kylo. Rey braced, reaching for an explanation when Rose turned back to her, evidently unable to see the man sitting on the staircase. “Are you okay?” concern was evident across her face. 

“Yeah, sorry, I, uh, remembered something...about the rooms upstairs, it doesn’t matter, sorry,” Rey’s eyes flicked back to Kylo, the same blank look from earlier was on his face when he stood and went back to his room. 

Shortly after, Rose left, but not before she extracted a promise for lunch, “Soon! We may even be lucky enough to get in a few more days of outdoor dining before the weather really sets in,” a rumble of thunder punctuated her statement, “or maybe not,” she laughed. 

“Either way, I’m looking forward to it, thanks for dropping by,”

“Of course, later, Rey!”

Rey walked her to the door and waved as Rose dashed down the driveway amongst the rain. When she was out of sight Rey closed the door and looked over at the stairs, Kylo hadn’t reappeared. But she had to find him, the realization she had about him had hit like a freight train and only served to deepen the mystery of her new roommate. She took a deep breath and went upstairs to find him. 

The door was still open and the room was empty, but Rey knew he had to be around somewhere. “Kylo?” she asked hesitantly  _ how are you supposed to ask someone about their death? _

When he appeared this time he was looking out the window, he didn’t turn to look at her and Rey was almost relieved – maybe this way was easier. She opened her mouth to ask what was surely a rude question, but Kylo spoke first. 

“She couldn’t see me. It’s just you.” He sounded odd, like he had been aiming for flippant but couldn’t reach it. 

“I...I don’t know what to say. I don’t have any experience talking to ghosts,” Rey picked at the new callus forming on her right palm, suddenly more nervous than she was a moment ago. 

“Yeah, me neither,” he responded drily, still not looking at her. 

“Kylo, I– I’m sorry if this is rude, but how old are you? Or were you...when–”

“When I died? A few days away from turning 30.”

If Rey’s realization about him being a teenager in the 80s was true, and he was 30, he would have died in the late 90s – possibly in the fire that had destroyed most of this house. “Was it the fire? I’m asking because I didn’t see a mention of anyone named Kylo Ren and this house was only ever owned by Senator Organa.”

Finally, Kylo turned to look at her. The blank look he had sported since this morning was gone, replaced by something much worse, instead quiet devastation filled his eyes. “I chose that name, but the official report would have called me Ben Solo. It was my fault. And now I’m stuck here, haunting the place that haunted my entire adult life,” he let out a soulless laugh, “you know the first time I woke up, I didn’t realize I was dead. I sat up on the stairs, and there were firemen picking through the charred remains of the house occasionally putting out a glowing hotspot or pulling down an unstable section of the ceiling. But no one even glanced in my direction. I asked questions and yelled but it wasn’t until my hand went straight through one of them that I realized. And then the Chief came inside,” Kylo was looking straight through her now, like he had timetraveled back 20 years and she wasn’t in the room. “He spoke to one of the crew that just descended the broken stairs who said there was hardly anything left of the husband. Then the Chief asked about ‘the son’–me– apparently there was no trace of a second person in the house. Which meant I had escaped, which made me a person of interest. I watched as the Chief explained this to my mother, I couldn’t hear anything, they were out on the driveway and I couldn’t cross the threshold. My mother, The General, as she was sometimes known on the Hill didn’t crack when she received the news that her husband was dead and her son was wanted for questioning. I don’t think she even cried, not when the news vans were waiting at the end of the driveway.” The words were spilling out of him now, like a dam had broken and nothing could hold the story in. “I watched as the arson investigators declared the fire a tragic accident, and told my mother that no one could confirm I was even on the property when the fire started and was no longer being considered a person of interest. It was all a lie, of course. The fire was my fault, I killed my father, and burnt down my parents house. All of which the construction workers were sure of – and discussed at length–when they were rebuilding. Most of them seemed to think it was a coverup meant to garner sympathy for my mother’s political career. I’m sure its working, my mother never missed an opportunity to work an angle to her advantage. She always had all the time and energy in the world for her constituents.”

“But if you were missing – didn’t she wonder where you went?” Rey’s body had gone cold during his recount. Kylo Ren, the stoic ghost she had never expected was the same person as the 12 year old boy with too big ears that had pulled at her heartstrings only a few days ago. Surely his mother would have looked for him, that was what mothers were supposed to do, right?

Kylo let out another humorless laugh, “She didn’t come back to the house after that first morning. She probably knew I was responsible and assumed I went back to whatever godforsaken blacksite I was assigned to. Before that night, I hadn’t seen either of my parents in over 10 years. I was never the son they wanted, I didn’t meet the requirements for what the charming son of a senator should be. When I turned 18 I joined the military, shortly after I caught the eye of a man who would become my mentor who put me on his CIA ops team. I shed everything that Ben Solo had been and ran missions that would never make any kind of headline, that would never be written about in any shape or form. I knew that they were all varying levels of illegal but it was a long time before I realized they weren’t all sanctioned. I showed up here, drunk, ready to commit some kind of treason by breaching twenty different NDAs. But my mom was called back to the statehouse for some emergency session and my dad and I ended up fighting before he went to bed. I think I threw an empty whiskey bottle in the fire before I stormed out but I guess it wasn’t empty because then the house was on fire I went back in to get my dad but…” The rain was falling in earnest now, drilling against the roof. Kylo was looking out the window again, “I killed my father, Rey. And now I’m haunting you. A monster, even in death it would seem.”

Her heart broke at the quietness with which he spoke. Like it was an unqualified fact. “Kylo…”

“I don’t remember much after the construction workers left. I think a realtor came once to take pictures, but I didn’t really wake until you – and I can’t make myself go back. Maybe its an anniversary thing, its October? I’ll stay out of your way as much as I can until I sleep again.”

Anniversary?  _ Oh no _ . “Kylo, what year do you think it is?” 

Whatever look he read on Rey’s face clearly told him it wasn’t merely a year after his death, so his answer came in the form of a question, “1998?”

“No, its 2019,” she corrected him as gently as she could. When she had started this conversation, she really couldn’t have predicted the heartwrenching turn it had taken. Not that it was ever going to be a carefree discussion, but this – this was something else. 

“22 years?” he whispered, “I’ve been dead for 22 years?”

“Your mother–”

“I don’t want to know,” he looked back at her, stony-eyed. 

“But–

“No. I think we’ve had enough history today,” his tone brooked no argument. 

A heavy silence fell over the room, broken only by a loud crack of thunder. “Okay, I’m going back down to work on the kitchen if you want to...talk or–I’ll be around.” Rey gave what she hoped was a kind and not patronizing smile before turning to leave. 

“Rey–” She stopped with one hand on the doorframe. His eyes were different now, the haunted look was gone, but something like defeat had taken its place. She’d never met anyone whose eyes held such emotion at any given moment. If Finn wore his heart on his sleeve for the world to see, Kylo kept his locked up tight, only visible when his eyes betrayed him. 

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know why you’re the only one that can see me, but I’m sorry about this, I’d change it if I could.”

The urge to hug him sort of surprised her, she’d never been much of a hugger – only Finn had managed to change that a little–but it was there nevertheless. “Don’t say that,” Kylo had divulged more than a little about his past, so it was only fair that she shared some of her own baggage Rey supposed. “I’ve spent a lot of my life alone, from the time I was a kid and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, not even a ghost who thinks he deserves it. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. You’re not alone,” she said the last part with a fierceness that betrayed her own kind of broken heart. 

Kylo swallowed, and stared at her as if seeing her for the first time, “Neither are you.”

They stared at each other for a moment, as if realizing that statement was more than just about physical presence. Then a flash of lightning lit the room, which caused Rey to jump. She cleared her throat and gave him a shy smile, “So I’ll be downstairs.”

________________

The storm was in full force outside, at one point Rey had to dash out to ensure her little tent wasn’t ripped from the platform on the bed of her truck. She’d prayed to anyone who was listening that she wasn’t hit by lightning while she ran over to secure the doors to the garage. And while she wasn’t fried by any of the bolts that seemed to split the sky, she was absolutely drenched by the time she made it back inside. Rey slid to the floor with her back to the door after she slammed it shut against the wind. 

“You look like a drowned rat.”

Rey shot him a withering glare, “Drowned rat is the 2019 look I’ll have you know.”

“I’ve known about 2019 for all of five minutes and I doubt it.” As much as she hated to admit it, smug looked good on Kylo Ren–suprressed smile, hands in his pockets, and stupidly perfect hair in soft waves. 

“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help a lady up?” Rey held her hand up, there was a puddle forming around her sodden form. 

The smile on his face grew, they hadn’t even known each other for 24hrs but her frustration seemed to be an endless source of amusement. He stepped forward, but it was only when her hand was firmly grasped in his that they both realized what had just happened. 

“You–”

“I–”

Gently, he continued to pull her to her feet. Neither of them let go when Rey was standing, both too focused on their hands, his was solid and warm in hers. Even earlier that morning, Rey hadn’t been able to feel him, not really; and he’d said his hands passed through the firefighters when he’d first woken up. 

“I thought you said you couldn’t–”

“I couldn’t. Not until you, it would seem.”

Rey looked up to meet his eyes and felt herself blush at the intensity of his stare. More than ever she was aware of her stringy, wet hair plastered to her face, and her shirt that was surely see-through now. But he was staring at her like she held the answer to every question he’d ever asked. And that scared her a little. Their relationship–for lack of a better word– was moving fast, and it was only two in the afternoon on their first full day of knowing each other. She cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. 

“I should, um, get back to sanding the cabinets. And clear a space for the bed– I mean my new mattress, that is getting delivered. Here, well, upstairs – today.”

“Would you mind if I tried?” Rey stepped further back from him and felt her face grow redder. “The cabinets! Sanding them, I mean,” a gentle blush grew on Kylo’s cheeks as well. 

“Right, I should dry the floor and change. Um the sand paper is on the counter, I’m just trying to get the lacquer off so don’t scrub too hard, and go in one direction– with the grain. I’ll be right back.” The instructions rushed out of Rey before she grabbed her bag from near the bottom of the stairs and ran upstairs. 

When Rey re-entered the kitchen, Kylo had moved on to a second cabinet door. She smiled when she took stock of the extreme look of concentration on his face. 

“You okay there?”

He looked up as she came over to inspect his work–even across the board, as if she herself had done it. “Touching you was easy enough, but objects are harder. I have to concentrate.”

Rey stopped herself from making a comment about how okay she’d be with him practicing on her.  _ Jeez calm down, girl _ she chastised herself. She was saved from responding by a knock at the front door. Her mattress, thank goodness. 

Kylo stood in the kitchen and watched as Rey directed the delivery guys upstairs. One of them carried the mattress all by himself, on his back, not unlike a turtle, while the other hauled the pieces of the bedframe up. The whole thing took less than three minutes. Rey was impressed, she’d never had a new mattress before and when she had helped Finn with his, it involved a lot more huffing and struggling between the two of them as they fought it into their tiny second floor apartment. 

“You’re not going to sleep outside tonight, right?” asked Kylo as Rey shut the door, muffling the sounds of the ongoing storm once more. 

“No, my tent is pretty good, but even if the mattress was delayed again there was no way I was staying out in that mess,” another flash of lightning lit the sky, as if to punctuate her statement.

“Good,” maybe she’d imagined it  _ or maybe its wishful thinking _ , but a little tension seemed to leave Kylo’s shoulders. 

“I’m going to put the bedframe together, do you think you can handle the rest of the cabinet doors?”

“I was trained by the most elite soldiers this country has, yes I think I can handle this supremely involved task,” he answered drily. 

“I was only asking! Look I’m sure you know how to infiltrate a bad guy’s lair six ways from Sunday, but I doubt they teach you much carpentry at CIA camp.”

“No but my dad did–mostly simple stuff. We built a canoe once, it sank immediately though, probably still at the bottom of the Sound. He was better at cars.” The bright look vanished from his eyes again, Rey felt like she could see the green tones in his eyes fade to a dull brown as she watched. 

After a moment’s hesitation, she crossed over to him and squeezed the hand that was still holding the sandpaper. “From what I can see, he taught you well. I’ll be upstairs, okay?”

Kylo cleared his throat and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see if I can finish these before you’re done.”

“Is that a competitive streak I see in you, Kylo? You have no idea what you’re up against,” a devilish smile broke out across her face. Rey liked to win, it had gotten to the point where Finn banned all boardgames between Rey and Poe after the chaos that resulted due to their competitiveness. “Loser has to tell an embarrassing story –READYSETGO!” Rey grabbed her toolbag and rushed up the stairs two at a time. 

________________

Kylo was leaning casually against the breakfast bar when Rey came bounding down the stairs. Somehow he managed to look taller with his legs stretched in front of him, arms behind him with a look that suggested he had all the time in the world. 

“What? No way, you finished?” Rey groaned. 

“I don’t know what happened up there, but has anyone ever told you, you swear like a sailor?”

“Its been mentioned one or two times before,” Rey crossed her arms. She’d been flustered, she never got flustered when building things before, but there she was dropping screws and attaching pieces upside-down. She had to take everything apart and start over, not that she was going to admit that to Kylo. 

“Okay so let’s have it, one embarrassing story please.” That smug look was bag on his face, and if Rey wasn’t such a bad loser, she wouldn’t be mad about it.

Rey chose her story carefully, most of her embarrassing stories were not funny or endearing. They involved foster homes, hand-me-down clothes that didn’t fit and a lack of friends that hurt too deep to share just yet. Instead, she told him how she’d become known as Rip Van Winkle for her last two years of high school. 

“Anyway, when the teachers realized I was falling asleep in  _ all _ of their classes I got detention. I sort of leaned into the nickname by the end of senior year–I dressed up as him for one of the spirit days, long white beard and all.”

When Rey looked over at Kylo she expected him to at least be smiling, trying to picture her dressed up as the old man who slept so soundly he missed the Revolutionary War. But instead he looked upset. 

“The teachers never asked  _ why _ you needed to sleep all day, did they?” They hadn’t, but Rey suspected Kylo had guessed why. 

“No they didn’t,” she answered quietly. 

“Why, Rey?” 

“I was already working at least 30hrs a week at the junkyard. Between school, homework, and that I didn’t have much time to sleep. This was supposed to be a fun game,” Rey looked away. 

“As I’m sure you’ve guessed, I’m not great at ‘fun’,” he reached for her, trying to coax her gaze back. His eyes were soft when she looked up at him and Rey felt her heart melt a little.

“I’ll teach you.”

“Apparently, I’ve got all the time in the world,” for the first time a full smile lit up Kylo’s face, complete with dimples. It was the best thing Rey had ever seen. And she wanted more than anything to get him to do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh hey - so how do we feel about upping the chapter count? Good? Good.
> 
> When I had first drafted this, it was going to be a one shot I swear - and here we are. I'm still hoping to have it done before Halloween is _officially_ over so keep a look out. 
> 
> Sometimes I post stream of consciousness tweets about writing so come say hi on twitter [@alderaanbby](https://twitter.com/alderaanbby)


	3. On All Hallows Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its said that on All Hallows Eve, the spirits of the dead can come back to life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> technically I did finish it before halloween was over - at 11:58 to be exact but then I decided to try using html instead of the rich text option, so now its 12:08
> 
> time to start nano! (yikes)

Rey turned and leaned against the newly restored deck railing and looked in through the kitchen. After a few weeks, it had become easy to forget that her roommate is a ghost. Kylo was solid enough to interact easily with objects now, and his footfalls almost made sound against the hardwood floor. Rey learned quickly that his skills far surpassed the original task of sanding. He was also meticulous, almost to the point of annoyance. Nonetheless, they made a good team and were blowing past the schedule Rey had set forherself. She figured the house might even be finished by Halloween, three whole weeks earlier than she had planned. 

But despite the progress Kylo had made towards a more corporeal existence, he still couldn’t cross the threshold of the building, which meant Rey alone had to maneuver the long planks for the deck floor. Of course when she’d bought the house, she assumed she’d be doing it alone anyway, but that didn’t stop the frustrated look on Kylo’s face as he stood trapped against an invisible barrier at the backdoor. Eventually Rey got impatient with his surveillance and sent him inside with an assignment that would keep him busy for at least a little while. They had installed the new wooden countertop in the kitchen last night, and now Kylo was dutifully applying the foodsafe finish. She’d have to think of something else for him to do while she went out to her workshop to make two stools for the breakfast bar. She wouldn’t have time to make the dining table or chairs until the house was in more of a finished state, but with two barstools she could put away her camping chairs. 

With one last look around the deck to make sure all the necessary repairs were made, Rey went back inside just as a light rain began to fall. She shivered as she crossed back into the house, autumn had well and truly arrived by mid-October and she couldn’t be happier. Octobers definitely didn’t look like this in SoCal. 

Kylo looked up, “are you cold?” 

“Yeah,” she shivered again, “but its good. It gets cold in the desert at night, but I’ve never seen autumn like this. All of the towns I grew up in were in the desert where it was either freezing or boiling and the trees never looked like this,” Rey gestured to the wash of yellows and reds that stood out against the evergreens across the water. 

“We could light the fire tonight, if you want. Don’t think I haven’t seen you glancing at it every night this week.” 

“No, its fine, its time I started unpacking more clothes anyway.” They’d discovered last night that the ancient heater was busted. Kylo thought he could fix it. He'd watched his dad enough times, but they were waiting on the hardware store to receive the new parts. It was forecast to be cold tonight, so Rey was going to have to bundle up or add more blankets to her bed. 

“Rey, it’s really okay. You’re cold, and its only going to get worse tonight,” he raised his eyebrows at her. 

“Are...are you sure?” While it was true that Rey had been looking forward to using the fireplace, it formed part of the perfect cozy vibe she wanted from her new house–but given how it was the reason that Kylo was now a ghost housemate, she’d mostly given up the idea of using it. 

“Yes,” Kylo turned to look at the brick fireplace, “just...first can we check that the flue is clean?” There was a hesitant look in his eyes that made Rey’s heart ache a little. 

________________

An hour later the fireplace was clean and Rey was struggling to carry her only armchair from the trailer in through the front door where Kylo was waiting with his arms crossed and brows furrowed. 

When Rey was half way to the house she set the chair down and shook out her arms – it really hadn’t seemed this big when she moved it out of the apartment. _Maybe because Poe and Finn had carried it out you goose_. She looked over at Kylo who looked even less happy when she went to unload the chair. Although he was almost corporeal inside the house, so much so that she occasionally forgot he wasn’t really alive. But he still couldn’t set food outside, and no one else could see him and he was becoming increasingly frustrated with his limitations. 

As soon as Rey had wrangled the armchair one step over the threshold, Kylo took the weight from her and effortlessly carried it over to a spot close to the fireplace (but not too close). 

“Kylo, its f–.” 

“Its not fine, you had to crawl up on the roof to move that bird’s nest from the chimney, you had to fix the deck by yourself, and you could’ve thrown your back out with that chair,” he grumbled. 

“I’ve always had to do things on my own, I know how to take care of myself, Kylo,” Rey answered, cracking her back. 

“I know, but you shouldn’t have to! I’m–,” he raked a hand through his hair. “I’m stuck here, haunting your house and I can’t even help you!” 

“You have helped. We’re two weeks ahead of the schedule I had planned. You painted most of the house this weekend. And even if you hadn’t, Kylo, you told me I wasn’t alone, and you meant it – that would have been enough,” she bit her lip and hoped the blush she could feel on her cheeks wasn’t that visible in the low afternoon light. 

Kylo’s eyes brimmed with an emotion that Rey couldn’t put a name too, but before he could say anything her phone’s ringtone split the silence. 

“That’ll be the wifi company,” she grabbed her phone and went out to the middle of the deck, the only spot she’d found that had a reliable signal. 

________________

The rest of the afternoon passed with shy looks and quiet blushes. _You do not have a crush on your ghost housemate_ Rey chastised herself as Kylo caught her staring again. She knew she should really go work on the barstools, but she needed the lathe for that which would mean spending a couple hours in the workshop–where Kylo couldn’t go. 

So they were painting the cabinets. 

Rey could’ve painted the living room walls, but that was farther away than she wanted to be, for reasons she was resolutely ignoring. 

By the time the last cabinet was given its final coat of paint, the sun had well and truly set and Rey's stomach was protesting the fact that she’d skipped lunch. 

“You need to eat,” Kylo pushed the lid back onto the can of paint. 

“Do you miss it?” 

“Eating? Uh, no I guess. I dunno, I never really thought that much about food,” he shrugged. 

“Oh god you’re one of _those_ ,” Rey rolled her eyes, “Okay my new goal in life is to figure out how to make food for a ghost because stuffing your face with carbs is one of life’s great pleasures.” 

Kylo shook his head, “how about I settle for learning to cook? Not that I doubt your abilities to shift supernatural reality.” 

“You want to cook for me?” warmth spread through Rey’s chest. 

“Well I can’t pay rent so…” Kylo opened the fridge. “Okay first, I know nothing about food except the fact that you are terrible at grocery shopping.” 

“Excuse you, I’m excellent at grocery shopping!” Rey nudged him out of the way to pull out a microwavable burrito. 

“Theres not even a vegetable in here! I’m giving you a list next time,” Kylo crossed his arms. 

Rey smiled and wiggled with happiness as she bit into her bean and cheese burrito. “Its cute you think you can tell me what to do.” 

He shook his head and smiled as she danced around the newly finished kitchen. _There are those dimples_. Rey shoved the last of her dinner into her mouth, arguably more than was smart but she loved making him smile. 

“You’re ridiculous,” he turned to the living room, “I’m going to start the fire – and order a stomach pump for you.” 

Rey watched as he arranged logs in the newly cleaned fireplace. The first person to ask why she slept through so many classes, to want to learn a new skill just for her, to face his fear just because she was cold. 

She stopped pretending that she wasn’t falling hard and fast for a ghost. 

Kylo stood and took a step back from the crackling fire, making sure the arm chair was far enough away from any possible stray embers. _The armchair_. Rey only had one, she was planning on looking for a new couch once she arrived. Her old one had practically disintegrated when she and Finn moved it out to the street. 

“Sit down, I’ll grab my laptop and we can window shop for some new furniture.” 

Kylo made the arm chair look small, it was low enough that his knees were almost higher than his hips–which conveniently made a perfect spot for Rey to climb into. 

Which she promptly did, laptop in hand. 

Rey didn’t notice the blush that colored his ears, too busy pulling up furniture places that fell within her budget. 

They spent hours looking at couches, lamps, kitchenware, anything Rey could think of to keep them suspended in the armchair by the fire. Kylo was growing accustomed to modern style, and frankly had quite a few opinions. Most of which clashed with Rey’s impulses toward colorful, bright pieces where Kylo preferred sleek simplicity. 

At 11:03 Rey’s laptop died and she shut the lid, “Well, excellent, we made no progress.” 

“I disagree, we’ve at least established that corduroy is a ridiculous fabric for furniture.” 

“True,” Rey yawned. She leaned over to place her laptop on the floor. 

“We should get you to bed,” Kylo moved one arm under her legs. 

“No, not yet,” she suppressed another yawn, "it's nice here. Talk to me,” Rey shifted so she was leaning further into his chest. 

“About what?” 

“Anything, tell me a story.” 

Eventually the warmth from the fire, combined with the steady rumble of Kylo’s voice telling her about the mountains in Switzerland and how they compared to the Cascades, Rey fell into an easy sleep. 

________________

Rey woke to Kylo gently tracing his fingers up and down her arm. The living room was still fairly dark, the barely there blue tinge of the early morning. 

“Good morning,” she blinked up at him, “you stayed here all night?” 

“I didn’t want to leave the fire. And you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you.” Rey saw the little blush on Kylo’s ears this time. 

Rey stretched as well as she could still bundled in his lap before collapsing back against him. “I haven’t slept that well in–I don’t even know how long.” 

“So what's on the agenda today?” Kylo brushed a lock of fallen hair behind Rey’s ear. 

“Its almost Halloween, so I think we should carve some pumpkins. Rose told me trick or treaters never venture out this far, but we should make jack-o-lanterns anyway,” Rey declared. The only problem with that plan was it required moving. 

Which Kylo seemed to realize. “As much as I’d like to stay here, we both know you need to be fed or there'll be consequences.” 

Rey narrowed her eyes at him, “ _Consequences?”_

“You get cranky when you miss breakfast,” he shrugged. 

“I do not!” 

“Rey, I’ve lived with you for almost a month, yes you do.” 

“Hmph, fine. Just wait until your flaws start showing, mister.” 

“Of which there are plenty, I assure you,” his eyes betrayed his lighthearted tone. 

“Kylo…” 

“I’m fine, Rey. I made my choices, they’re my demons to live with.” His voice was steady but he wouldn’t look at her. 

“When you came back here…” Rey took a deep breath. There was a chance this question was going to cause an argument, but she wanted to help him. Not just because she was pretty sure she loved him, but because he deserved it. “Did you get a chance to tell your mom about your C.O.’s unsanctioned missions?” 

Kylo stood quickly, almost knocking Rey to the ground. 

“Look I’m not trying to hurt you, but if no one ever found out...the missions probably continued right? You could still stop him if–” 

“Sure, let me just hop on a plane to D.C.,” Kylo scoffed. 

“We could contact your mom,” Rey went to plug her laptop in so she could pull up her contact information. “She’s still a Senator, once we explain–” 

“My mom barely saw me while I was alive, what makes you think she’d be able to see me now?” Kylo cut her off again. 

“But what if she can, Kylo? I’m sure she’d want to see you. Don’t you want to try?” 

“I’m a monster Rey, don’t you get that? I’m not some lonely kid who needs a friend, some project you can fix! If you knew the things I’ve done, maybe you’d finally understand. All I’ve ever done is cause pain! I killed her husband! How am I supposed to talk to her?” he yelled and the lights flickered on, the dishes in the sink rattled, and a crash sounded upstairs. 

Rey took a step back, she hadn’t been scared of Kylo since the first night he appeared in her living room. But this was a different kind of scary, aggressive yelling from men scared her in a way that all women understood. 

Kylo’s eyes seemed to clear when he noticed the terrified look on Rey’s face. The tears that lined her eyes, threatening to fall. 

“Rey…” 

She backed further away. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. 

Then he vanished. 

________________

Rey jumped at every sound for the rest of the day. She kept expecting him to appear and couldn’t figure out if she was relieved or disappointed when the hours passed and she was still alone. She avoided looking at the arm chair or the fireplace and spent as much time as possible in her workshop building her barstools and starting on the dining table. 

The hardware store called, her part for the heater had arrived. She debated telling them she didn’t need it anymore–Kylo was supposed to be the one to install it after all. In the end she went to pick it up with the hope that a Youtube tutorial could walk her through the repair herself. A new heater really wasn’t in her budget. 

When she pulled back up to the house, the emptiness was offputting. She had grown used to Kylo, he may have taken up a lot of physical space, but he was quiet. Even so, silence in the house now was deafening. 

He had scared her, but a little distance told her that he was more angry with himself than anything else. Even so, if he did come back, she was owed an apology. _If he came back_. 

________________

Rey woke up alone on Halloween morning. She checked Kylo’s room, the only change was the newly painted walls. He’d wanted the same warm gray she’d chosen for her room. 

“Please come back,” she whispered to the empty room. He didn’t reappear. _Everyone leaves_. Rey refused to let the tears fall as she turned to go downstairs. She was reopening her online store tomorrow, and had to make sure she was ready. She didn’t have time to cry over boys. Even one she maybe loved. 

He was waiting for her downstairs. 

“I’m sorry, Rey. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled like that. I don’t know how to...the thought of talking to my mom, admitting to her everything I’ve done. Or worse, what if she still can’t see me? What if I’m still invisible to her?” he raked a hand through his hair. 

The worry on his face made him look years younger, like he was still a child hoping that his parents would notice him. 

“You scared me, Kylo. You scared me, and then you left me.” 

“I didn’t think you’d want me around after that,” the light that she’d come to love in his eyes had dulled. 

“I do want you. Every part of you, even the ones you don’t want me to see, but you can’t treat me like that. I know you’re worried, but let me help you,” Rey moved forward and left only a step between them. 

“You deserve better than a ghost,” he let his eyes wander over her face, like he was memorizing her. 

“That’s not for you to decide. Kylo, let me help you,” she closed the last distance between them. _Let me love you_. 

“On one condition, you call me Ben,” he held out his hand. 

“Ben,” she smiled, then went to slip her hand into his, but as soon as their fingers touched, there was an enormous flash of lightning, immediately followed by a deafening boom of thunder and he disappeared. 

Rey’s heart broke–he was gone. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. He was gone this time. Whatever had tied him to the house had shifted and she was alone. For real this time. 

She sank to the floor and let the tears fall this time. She’d never been in love before, but was pretty sure what she felt for Ben had been real love. Their story would have been one for the ages, but it slipped through her fingers before it had even really started. Her chest felt hollow, every warm feeling she’d had in the past few weeks had been put there by Ben. His concern about her safety, her eating habits–he wanted to learn to cook, just for her. He’d promised that she wasn’t alone. And now he was gone. 

A persistent knock at the front door interrupted her hiccuping sobs. She wasn’t prepared to let Rose see this, their friendship was way too new for that, so she ignored it. But the knocking only got louder. Rey wiped her face as best she could with her t-shirt before she opened the door. 

It was Ben. 

Solid and clear. The telltale outline of his ghostly self was gone. He was _alive_ alive. 

Rey launched herself at him. He almost lost his balance as she collided with him, but caught her with a firm arm around her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck. 

“I made you a promise–I told you you weren’t alone anymore. I meant it, Rey. I’d like to continue keeping it,” he said the words into her neck. 

“Yes, yes,” she pulled back to look at him, slightly blurry behind her tears, “I want you to stay.” 

His eyes were golden as he looked at her, warm and happy as he leaned in to kiss her. 

And oh, what a kiss. One for the ages, just like Rey knew it would be. 

________________

_Breaking News: CIA Director Alistar Snoke Arrested_

_The Director is accused of using Agency resources to run covert, unsanctioned operations on foreign and domestic soil. Snoke will reportedly face multiple war crimes charges under the U.N. Charter as well as treason against the U.S. Federal Government._

_It is also reported that in 1997 Snoke ordered the murder of one of his own agents, the son of Washington Senator Leia Organa, Benjamin Solo. It is believed that Solo was going to report on Snoke’s unlawful actions. Solo, 29 at the time of his death, will receive a posthumus award from the CIA later today._

**Author's Note:**

> The next chapter will be up as soon as I write it (😅) I want to finish this before Halloween so I can start nanowrimo with a clean slate
> 
> Follow me on twitter and watch me struggle with writing in real time! @alderaanbby


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